Jerry Van Dyke, star of ‘Coach,’ dead at 86

Jerry Van Dyke, who emerged from the shadow of his older brother Dick to forge a successful comedy and acting career of his own, most memorably on the sitcom "Coach," reportedly died Friday at his home in Arkansas. He was 86.

Van Dyke's wife Shirley told TMZ that her husband's health had been slowly deteriorating since the couple was involved in a car accident two years ago.

Van Dyke was born in Illinois, and launched his career as a comedian by joining the touring ensemble in the Air Force.

"In the service, you can steal other people's material," Dick said in 2015 of realizing his brother's talent for the first time. "I didn't realize how good he was. The main thing about Jerry is that he's funny from the inside out."

(Original Caption) Dick Van Dyke's brother Jerry (left) and his costars from the television series, Mary Tyler Moore accept Dick's Emmy Award here September 12 from Jimmy Durante. Comedian Dick Van Dyke and singer Barbara Streisand won the top television awards for their shows of last year.

THE MIDDLE - 'Flirting with Disaster' - Frankie finds herself innocently flirting with Axl's hot friend, Finn. But when she makes a not-so-innocent remark about him to her sister, she fears that both Finn and Axl may have overheard her conversation. Meanwhile, Sue is forced to take Brick to a 'Planet Nowhere' sci-fi convention, and Frankie's dad, Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), asks Mike to secretly help him study and pass his driver's test so that he can keep his license from being taken away, on 'The Middle,' WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Photo by Michael Ansell/ABC via Getty Images)

THE MIDDLE - 'Two of a Kind' - Frankie and Mike find themselves caught in the middle of a long standing family feud when Frankie's Uncle Dutch (Dick Van Dyke) contacts her dad, Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), in an attempt to reunite and bury the hatchet with his estranged brother. Meanwhile, a fearful Sue receives her first detention ever for being caught going off campus for lunch and seeks advice from Axl on how to survive the ordeal unscathed, on 'The Middle,' WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Photo by Michael Ansell/ABC via Getty Images)

Up Next

See Gallery

Discover More Like This

HIDE CAPTION

SHOW CAPTION

of

SEE ALL

BACK TO SLIDE

He soon launched a television career, appearing on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for a handful of episodes as Stacey Petrie, the military younger brother of Dick's Rob Petrie.

In the 1960s, he headlined two short-lived NBC sitcoms: "My Mother the Car," which ran from 1965 to 1966, and "Accidentally Family," from 1967 to 1968.

“I became known as the guy who did the worst show in the history of television,” he joked to People of “Mother” in 1993. “At least it took the edge off being Dick Van Dyke’s brother.”

He occasionally appeared on television alongside brother Dick, most recently in a 2015 episode of “The Middle.”

In the years following, Van Dyke rounded out his resume with stints on dozens of popular TV shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show," "Charles In Charge," "The Love Boat," "My Name Is Earl," and "Yes, Dear," where he appeared as the father of Jim Belushi's character.

However, his best-known role came as Luther Van Dam on "Coach," a sitcom which ran from 1989 to 1997 on ABC.

Van Dyke scored four Emmy nominations for his role as an assistant coach for a college football team alongside Craig T. Nelson.

More recently, Van Dyke starred in a guest spot on ABC sitcom "The Middle" as Tag Spence, the father of Patricia Heaton's Frankie Heck.

In 2015, brother Dick appeared alongside him in an episode as his character's brother.

"We are becoming closer. I'm really getting to know him better at this age," Jerry said that year of working with his brother. "The nicer he is to me, the more I think he thinks I'm going to die."

Van Dyke is survived by Shirley, his wife of 40 years, and two children.